Drafting for the Theatre

Dennis Dorn and Mark Shanda

Publication Year: 2012

In this newly revised second edition, veteran stage designers and technical directors Dennis Dorn and Mark Shanda introduce industry-standard drafting and designing practices with step-by-step discussions, illustrations, worksheets, and problems to help students develop and refine drafting and other related skills needed for entertainment set production work. By incorporating the foundational principles of both hand- and computer-drafting approaches throughout the entire book, the authors illustrate how to create clear and detailed drawings that advance the production process.

Early chapters focus on the basics of geometric constructions, orthographic techniques, soft-line sketching applications, lettering, and dimensioning. Later chapters discuss real-life applications of production drawing and ancillary skills such as time and material estimation and shop-drawing nomenclature. Two chapters detail a series of design and shop drawings required to mount a specific design project, providing a guided path through both phases of the design/construction process. Most chapters conclude with one or more worksheets or problems that provide readers with an opportunity to test their understanding of the material presented.

The authors' discussion of universal CAD principles throughout the manuscript provides a valuable foundation that can be used in any computer-based design, regardless of the software. Dorn and Shanda treat the computer as another drawing tool, like the pencil or T-square, but one that can help a knowledgeable drafter potentially increase personal productivity and accuracy when compared to traditional hand-drafting techniques.

Drafting for the Theatre, second edition assembles in one book all the principal types of drawings, techniques, and conventional wisdom necessary for the production of scenic drafting, design, and shop drawings. It is richly illustrated with numerous production examples and is fully indexed to assist students and technicians in finding important information. It is structured to support a college-level course in drafting, but will also serve as a handy reference for the working theatre professional.

Title Page, Copyright Page

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction—Drafting, the Graphic Language of Planning

This book is finally in its second edition. In
the nearly twenty years since the first edition
was published, it has been widely accepted
as a reference resource for professionals as
well as a course textbook by many schools.
This newly updated edition may be used as a...

Part One: Tools, Standards, and Basic Techniques

1. The Pencil and CAD—Two Great Choices

Drafting skills have always been important to
the field of stagecraft. Early in their careers,
set designers and technicians must learn the
variety of graphic skills that are so indispensable
to communicating their design ideas, as
well as their technical solutions, to others. To
develop our imaginations and then graphically
express these visions, it is necessary to
achieve a successful mastery of the field’s...

2. Getting Equipped—Tools of the Trade

Technical drawing requires the use of a
variety of tools to produce clean, accurate,
and reproducible drawings. As with most
activities, only a few pieces of equipment are
required, but additional equipment can make
certain tasks easier. For the purposes of this
text, drafting tools have been divided into...

3. Graphic Standards and Conventions

The primary purpose of drafting is to graphically
convey design and technical information.
Theatre graphics are used to communicate
design and construction ideas to members of
the production team and studio crew. As in
most fields, drafting should be viewed not as
an end product, but as a means to an end. For...

4. Lines and Letters

Whether a drawing is created with pencil and
paper or in a computer software program, the
resultant product must be of such a high graphic
quality that all subsequent users can clearly
understand the information presented. This is
achievable only when the drawing techniques
used are appropriate and consistent. This chapter...

5. Geometry—The Foundation of Drafting

Technical drawing involves a great deal of geometry,
although this fact is often not acknowledged.
In many instances, solving a design or
construction problem means drafting something
in scale to determine dimensions, joinery,
or some other aspect of the object that was not
at first apparent. Geometric constructions can
result in easier and more accurate drawings...

6. Dimensions and Those All-Important Notes

A drawing is of little use if it does not contain
complete dimensions and adequate notation.
Unfortunately, this requirement seems to create
real hardships for many drafters. Too often,
tight schedules “force” the drafter to take
shortcuts, leaving many dimensions missing
and assembly choices left up to the option of...

Part Two: Orthographic Projection

7. 3D to 2D and Back

The very root of technical drafting is the challenge
of describing three-dimensional shapes.
To be useful, technical drafting must be drawn
accurately and provide all of the information
essential to successfully construct the needed
object. Furthermore the drawing must convey
the true size and shape of the object. Once the...

8. Section Views—The Inside Scoop

Typical multiview drawings describe an object
through six standard planes, i.e., the planes
projected on the surfaces of the theoretical
glass box that surrounds the object. Using
these six views, any information about the
object’s interior must be shown through the...

9. Finding an Object’s True Size and Shape

Some objects, such as a raked stage or a ceiling
piece that is canted in two directions, have
a surface that is not parallel to any of the six
principal planes of a multiview drawing. Obviously,
if the object is to be fabricated, that
surface must be accurately described. Two
types of drawings achieve this goal, although...

10. Scalable 3D Drawings—Isometric and Oblique

Individuals not familiar with the conventions
of orthographic projection generally find
two-dimensional drafting difficult to understand.
For these people, a sketch that shows
an object in a three-dimensional form is more
effective and certainly more user friendly (fig.
10.1). Three-dimensional drawing techniques...

Part Three: Specialized Techniques

11. Mechanical Perspective—The Long Way and Some Shortcuts

Since a significant amount of scenery is constructed
using either true or forced perspective,
theatre designers, scenic artists, and set
fabricators all need to understand the basic
principles of perspective. Forced perspective
is a term used when the converging lines do
not meet at correctly defined vanishing points...

12. Sketching—Where All Our Drafting Solutions Begin

Although not frequently associated with technical
drafting, sketching is a significant and vital
part of the drafting process. With sketches,
we can often solve problems more quickly.
By downplaying the need for precision and
suspending perfectionist tendencies, most
designers are better able to quickly produce...

13. Simplified Drafting Techniques for Both Pencil and CAD

As noted earlier, drafting is a graphic means
used to translate ideas that initiate many of the
visual elements found in a theatrical production.
Put another way, the end product of set
drafting is scenery, not a drawing. To facilitate
that goal, whenever possible every effort
should be made to reduce the time necessary...

Part Four: Computer Drafting

14. CAD—The Twenty-First-Century Tool of Choice

Unlike pencil drafting, where essentially all
drafters use the same tools in much the same
way, computer-aided design (CAD) drafting
consists of a variety of computer software
packages and a wide divergence of computer
setups. Additionally, CAD software is
updated nearly annually to respond to user...

15. Keeping Track of All Those Files

To maximize the efficient creation, storage,
and plotting of CAD drawings, each drafter
should abide by and each organization should
establish standards that support universal
exchange of information. While it may be
relatively easy enough to convert some basic
things when drawings are shared, like English...

Part Five: Design and Shop Drawings Overview

16. Scoping Out Design Drawings

The scene designer’s drawings are to the scenery
construction process what an architect’s
drawings are to the building trades. These
drawings, also known as design drawings or
working drawings, are the means by which the
images previously captured by the designer
in sketch or rendering form (fig. 16.1) become...

17. A Case Study of How Design Drawings Are Created

In order to describe the range of drawings
typically required to graphically communicate
a scenic design, this chapter leads the reader
through the critical steps necessary to prepare
the two-dimensional drawings needed
to articulate a design. The project featured is
Dennis Dorn’s design for Fire in the Basement...

18. A Case Study of How Shop Drawings Are Made

Once a production has been designed and
drafted, the design drawings are sent out for
bid or the costs estimated in-house. During
this period, changes may occur in the design
due to artistic decisions and the inevitable
costs of construction. In commercial theatre
and similar businesses, because of time constraints...

19. Stage Walls with Square Edges

Shop or construction drawings approach
scenery from the inside out. These drawings
identify the techniques and materials to be
used to construct the designs as prepared by
the designer. Shop drawings indicate joinery,
materials, hardware, covering, and finishes
and are accurately dimensioned, typically in
½″ = 1′-0″ scale with perhaps some details...

20. Levels—Both Stationary and Rolling

Flat frames such as those discussed in the previous
chapter are designed to simulate interior
and exterior walls and are rarely called on to
support much weight other than their own.
Standard flat frames use construction materials
oriented in the face direction, making...

21. Stairs and Other Challenging Structures

A stair is one of the most complex units of
standard scenery to build or to draft. The
complexity of stair units comes from the need
for them to be comfortable for the human
body, to elevate the actor to a given height,
and to fit within a given space. Drafting them
requires some understanding of the structural...

22. Profile Units, Soft Goods, and Similar Design Elements

Most of the scenic units discussed in the previous
chapters on shop drawings have had
rectilinear shapes. For the most part, however,
scenery does not fit into this convenient world
of right angles. For purposes of discussion,
we refer to these nonrectilinear forms as “irregular...

23. Wood Is Good but . . . Metal Is Good Too!

Metal construction has become almost as
common as wood construction in most academic,
regional, and commercial scenic studios.
Steel and aluminum framed structures,
trusses, and design elements appear on many
stages. The price of tube steel, a commonplace
and convenient metal shape, is not much...

Part Six: The Portfolio Project

24. In Summary—The Final Project

In this final chapter, we encourage the creation
of a “portfolio piece” and provide one
possible framework for such an experience.
A “final project” provides an opportunity to
incorporate the book’s information into a
cumulative effort that will “test” a drafter’s
ability to synthesize the information discussed...

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